Efforts are being launched this year to enhance one of the empty spaces in downtown North Battleford.
The lot at 1122-101st Street, beside the Scotiabank building, is to be filled as a 鈥減ocket park鈥� during the summer.
It was approved by city council Monday, and is being done as a partnership initiative between the city and the North Battleford Downtown Business Improvement District.
The lot is owned by the city and is available for purchase. The lot would remain for sale, but the idea is to turn it into a temporary space where people can visit.
Director of Corporate Services Jennifer Niesink outlined the plan to use spare picnic tables, benches and garbage cans that the City already has, and turn the lot into an area where users could eat, drink coffee or read books. The downtown Clean Team will look after the upkeep of the location.
Because the tables and benches are already available there would be no cost to the city to set it up.
Niesink also said if there were any problems at the location and it wasn鈥檛 working out, the street furniture could be removed and it would go back to being a vacant lot. The downtown BID and City administration would monitor the space and activity to evaluate.
There was a range of reaction from council members to the proposal. Some trepidation was expressed that the space could attract loitering activity.
Councillor Thomas 鈥淏ill鈥� Ironstand pointed to how the downtown was being perceived with the other benches downtown, with 鈥減eople sitting around on them all day.鈥� He also noted there were no plans to plant grass at the location. Instead, it would remain mud and dirt, he said.
鈥淢y gut just tells me it鈥檚 going to be a new loitering place,鈥� said Ironstand.
Most other councillors were positive. Councillor Kent Lindgren saw it as a 鈥渞eally innovative way to repurpose and retransform the downtown.鈥� He thought that was what the downtown BID was aiming for, to 鈥渕ake those spaces usable.鈥�
Councillor Greg Lightfoot saw the potential for the spot as a place where downtown patrons could take take-out food from restaurants during the summer months, and help create more business activity there for coffee shops and restaurants.
The idea was to 鈥渢ry and transform the downtown into a public place where people can go and enjoy the atmosphere and walkability, and possibly the retailers.鈥�
In the end council voted to move forward with the pocket park. There was an additional requirement added to the resolution that at the end of the summer a report will be provided to council on the success or challenges seen with the pocket park.
